The Sixers' new Big Three – Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George – “all want us to be ourselves”

For a pleasant change, the Philadelphia 76ers went into training camp this year without any major distractions. No moody point guards sulk their way through trade demands. Instead, they rode the wave of good vibes that came with an active offseason.

The Sixers traded away a large portion of their roster this summer – have fun in Detroit, Tobias! – but their biggest move by far was signing Paul George in free agency. The nine-time All-Star is already earning rave reviews from head coach Nick Nurse, who was brimming with excitement about his versatile new forward at media day.

“I think he’s one of those guys who can do so many things,” Nurse said. “I could imagine we'll do a whole range of things with him, from lifting the ball to post and everything in between. With guys like him, you have to make sure he's moving from the post to the elbow, from pin-downs to setting screens to coming off back screens – all those things. I think you're giving him a wide variety of things again just to utilize his talents. His talents include that he can score in a variety of ways, he can run the pick-and-roll, and he can do some offense. I’m just excited to see what it looks like.”

On paper, George should be a seamless fit between Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid. The nine-time All-Star is a nightly 20-point scorer who has quietly become one of the best high-volume three-point shooters in the NBA. He has also averaged at least five rebounds, three assists and one steal per game over the past nine seasons.

Still, recent NBA history is littered with star duos or Big Threes that have struggled to gel together. They fell into a “it’s your turn, it’s my turn” dynamic rather than learning to complement each other, which hindered their effectiveness and placed a clear limit on their team’s ambitions.

The 2024-25 Sixers hope not to fall into the same trap.

“We all want to be ourselves,” George said. “That’s the only way this thing will work. I have to be Paul George, Joel has to be Joel Embiid, Tyrese has to be Tyrese Maxey for this thing to work and for us to learn and figure out how to play with each other.”

Embiid might be the biggest concern in this regard. Maxey has proven in recent years that he can elevate his offensive production in the absence of James Harden and Ben Simmons, but he also willingly took a backseat to Harden and Embiid after the former arrived at the 2022 trade deadline. George played alongside Kawhi Leonard on the Los Angeles Clippers for the last half-decade and had no problem admitting that Leonard was the No. 1 option in LA

Embiid, who won the MVP award in 2022-23 and was on track to repeat last year before his meniscus injury, has never been second banana. He has always been the Sixers' focal point, as evidenced by his comical on/off splits over the years.

But as Embiid heard him say, that was more of a byproduct of the personnel around him.

“My job this year and what I really want to focus on is strengthening these guys,” Embiid said. “I'll do it if I have to. If that means I have to score some points at some point, then I will do it. But most of the time I really want to focus on letting the game really come to me.

“I think the last few years I've had to do it because we haven't necessarily had the manpower to take that step back and put ourselves in a position to win. But I feel like this year with the guys we added – Paul, (Maxey) taking another step, Caleb, Guerschon, Eric… we added a lot of guys. Kyle is back. That’s my job this year and to fit in when I’m needed.”

The Sixers have long lacked a reliable backup center behind Embiid, which may have contributed to his ability to overcome injuries during the regular season. Now they have Andre Drummond, who capably filled in for him whenever he missed time during the 2021-22 season.

They also have Maxey, a rising 23-year-old who made his first of potentially many All-Star Game appearances last year. According to initial reports from training camp, he appears to be taking on more of a leadership role on and off the field. Another jump could be imminent.

“I just don’t want to put any limits on this guy,” Nurse said. “I think he’s so good – his speed, his shot from deep. He gains more experience. I think he's getting better defensively. In this way he took a step forward. We expect more of the same. I expect him to take another big step this year.”

George should also be a huge blessing for the Sixers.

“Paul is great,” Maxey said. “He can do a lot of different things. You can also simply use it via plug and play. That's the crazy thing about him. I think he's been an All-Star and All-NBA player for almost a decade. So he knows how to play. He knows how to play a role when he needs to. He knows how to save you in an emergency. And at the end of the day, he can also play defense and guard multiple positions. This will also help us a lot. I think Nick Nurse will do a good job of setting him up and putting him in the right spots to be successful.”

Having Maxey and Embiid shoulder a larger share of the scoring load could help Embiid navigate more effectively over the course of the 82-game regular season. Keeping him healthy appears to be the Sixers' top priority heading into the year.

But when the Sixers' Big Three play together, they focus on how they can best complement each other.

“I think this is the first time I’ve played with an elite point guard and an elite big man at the same time,” George said. “For us it’s just one against the other. There is nothing that compels a person to bear this burden; We can share this responsibility. But I see us flowing. I think we can all play our game within the game.

“Joel, he’s obviously dominant in the paint and at the rim. Tyrese is great in transition and also in the half court – when you have the floor spaced around him. And myself, being able to play off a big man and play in transition with Tyrese. I think all three of us are progressing well and can make the game easy for all of us.”

No one should expect the revamped Sixers to figure it out right away. Perhaps to prevent overreactions at the start of the season, Maxey warned that it would take some time for them to grow together.

“I don’t think it’s going to go smoothly,” he said. “Of course I think it will be difficult. There are a lot of fresh faces. We have to learn different attacks. We have to learn from each other where the other likes the ball, which combinations work and which don't. Once we figure this all out, I think it will be great.”

If they can pull it off, it could lead to a long-awaited championship.

Unless otherwise stated, all statistics above NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the glass or Basketball reference. All salary information about Salary Swish and salary cap information about RealGM.